Blake Griffin, Los Angeles Clippers. He scored the first 10 points of the third quarter and led a Clippers’ charge that had them up 18 in the third — Golden State spent the rest of the game trying to get out of that hole and never fully could. Golden State has no answer for Griffin, who had 32 points on 25 shots and was the focal point of the Clippers’ offense all night (as he was in Game 2). Griffin was knocking down that Duncanesque face-up bank shot, he was attacking the rim, he was just doing whatever he wanted. He is the difference in this series right now and not a problem the Warriors can easily solve.

Jeff Teague, Atlanta Hawks. When he is aggressive and attacking he is a quality point guard, and right now he is attacking — and with Roy Hibbert struggling and pulled out of the paint by Pero Antic, Teague has a straight line path to points. He finished with 22 points and 10 boards. He has become the face of a Hawks team that is just getting it done against the No. 1 seed Pacers. And they are getting it done with ridiculous shots like this.

Mike Conley, Memphis Grizzlies. He won the NBA’s sportsmanship award this week, but he has not been kind to the Thunder. Conley had five of his team-high 20 points in overtime making sure the Grizzlies took a 2-1 lead over the Thunder. More than that, all series the Grizzlies have been patient, in control, disciplined, making the extra pass and getting the best look. Conley is one of the most underrated point guards in the league, and he could be leading his team to the second round of the playoffs.

The Eastern Conference playoffs aren’t even worth watching. Miami is going to be in the Finals and it’s just a matter of playing out the string to get to that point. The Western Conference playoffs meanwhile are pure hell that someone is going to survive while a rested, barely even tried Heat team waits. Outside Miami, I don’t think a single playoff team in the East could win a series against any playoff team from the West.

@bucrightoff – You might be right. My first reaction was “that can’t be right”, but now that I think about it, I can’t really imagine any East team 2 to 7 beating a Western Conference team in a playoff series right now. Indiana is just a mess! The Bulls can’t score. The Wizards are good, but they’d have trouble defensively and I think would get outscored. The Nets are too old and un-athletic. Forget the Hawks and the Bobcats! Toronto….maaay be.

The only team besides Miami that I can see being able to contend with a West team is the Wizards, and even then I’m not so sure. Beal/Wall still need playoff experience. On the plus side they have a lot of experienced vets with Nene, Gortat, Ariza, Andre.

@rawgator06 – I don’t put any stock in regular season records. Comparing a home and away + 1 extra game is meaningless. Not to mention that the numbers you put up are exactly even if you throw out the 4/5 matchup. 1-1 (Even). 1-2 and 2-1 balances out.

The Clippers have finally understood that the Warriors are not a lottery team anymore; they are a title contender. And by treating them like a title contender, they’ve been able to beat them.

Don’t know if the Clippers will face the Thunder or Grizzlies, but I’ll tell you this: I’d rather the Clippers face Memphis so that they can atone for last season’s playoffs meltdown. The road to the playoffs for the Clippers contains a narrative, as well: righting the wrongs of their franchise’s losing ways and atone for the mistakes they’ve made since trading for Chris Paul.

It would be great to see a Clippers-Memphis rematch. Memphis is a tough team, whatever their seed, and certainly they’d be up for the Clippers. But I’d bet on an entirely different outcome this time around.

mat9844 - Apr 25, 2014 at 11:10 AM

Awesome show of talent, BG ~ especially for all of those still insisting that ‘all he can do is dunk’.